At first, President Reagan was unaware that he had been shot; he initially
believed one of his ribs had been broken in the fray. Only when he began
bleeding from the mouth did the presidential limousine cancel its original
route to the White House and rush to the hospital. Upon arrival, the President
stumbled into the hospital, dropped to one knee, and announced in a panic,
"I can't breathe!" Hospital personnel helped him into the trauma
area. It was only after the President's shirt was removed did the personnel
attending him realize the president had been shot.

The First Lady, Nancy Reagan, arrived as Mr. Reagan was prepared for
surgery. Even in this time of urgency, the President still had his sense
of humor. He told Nancy, "Honey, I forgot to duck." Nurses wheeled
him into surgery where the room was filled with anxious doctors. Surrounded
by the bright lights and masked surgeons, Reagan whispered, "Please
tell me you're Republicans." The lead surgeon, an avowed Democrat,
answered, "Today, Mr. President, we're all Republicans." The
president then drifted into unconsciousness.

Dr. Benjamin Aaron took control of the President's operating team and
commenced surgery for removal of the bullet. He encountered a great deal
of bleeding from the President's chest; Dr. Aaron would later estimate
that Reagan lost almost one-half of the volume of blood in his body before
entering surgery. The surgery continued until the bullet was located shortly
before 6:00 p.m. The bullet itself was flattened and appeared to be the
shape of a dime. After removing the bullet, the surgery was finished around
6:30 p.m.

President Reagan made a quick recovery and left the hospital on April
11, 1981; just twelve days after the attack. This time Reagan was not taking
any chances; he existed the hospital wearing a bullet-proof vest.